We all have that one spot (maybe a few) in our home that is a perpetual dumping ground. It can be as small as a clothes chair or as large as a basement. Even visible areas—the entryway, kitchen island, or bathroom counter—can be cluttered catch-alls. The problem is that after living with it for a while, we stop registering that the mess is even there. It eventually blends in with the space, so when we walk past the mountain of unopened mail or the stacks of shoes, we don’t notice them anymore. In other words, we’ve become ‘junk blind.’

While it might not have bothered you when you were blind to it, there are several reasons why you’ll likely want to tackle the clutter now that it’s been brought to your attention. Keep reading to discover how to identify junk blindness in your home, along with some simple strategies to clear it once and for all.

What Is "Junk Blindness"?

Junk blindness happens when you’ve lived with the same clutter for so long that your brain (and eyes) filter it out. If your coffee table is piled with papers and knickknacks, and someone were to come into your home for the first time, they would probably notice it immediately. But if this has been occurring for years, it might have become normal for you.

There are good reasons to address your hotspots, other than the possible embarrassment from guests, announced or unannounced, loved ones visiting, or contractors doing work. For one, the clutter is likely overstimulating and causing stress to your subconscious mind. It could also be upsetting to other household members who haven’t become junk blind and see it daily.

Lastly, it’s easy to misplace items when they fall into the vacuum that is your blind, mound-like junk. Fortunately, there are ways you can combat junk blindness. Like many things, the first step is to acknowledge it.

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Own Your Junk Blindness

You can own your junk blindness in one of two ways. Walk through your home as if you’re visiting for the first time, or have a trusted, honest friend or family member walk through it with you, pointing out the clutter that catches their eye. Note that it’s best to do this when you can take your time and are not easily distracted. You might also want to take photos on your tour and look at them through a different lens (literally). Once you’ve identified the clutter zones, jot down where they are and tackle them one at a time using the following tidying techniques.

How to Combat Your Junk Blindness

Here are five foolproof ways to declutter and maintain the parts of your home you didn’t know needed it until now.

1. Start Small

You don’t need to declutter the entire house today to free yourself from junk blindness jail. Focus on one area—or, if it’s a whole room, just a corner for now—so you can begin to build up your confidence and make a visual impact without being overwhelmed. Start by removing everything that doesn’t belong and sort it into categories: keep, donate, or discard. If an item you find belongs in a different spot, such as a pair of scissors in the junk drawer, return it immediately. Everything else needs to be given away, tossed, recycled, or stored elsewhere.

2. Give Spaces a Purpose

Junk blindness often occurs in areas of your home that lack a clear purpose or have lost their original purpose over time. For example, an entryway console table might have started out serving as decor, but now it’s where phones are charged, packages for return are dropped, and random toys live after you step on them in the hallway. Decide the function of the surface space at this stage of your life, and set it up so it only holds what it’s meant to. By intentionally giving areas a designated purpose, it’s much easier to notice when something is out of place.

3. Create Clutter Obstacles

You already know that junk blindness happens when clutter stays stagnant for too long, so try shaking things up. After you finally clear the dining room table, lay down a runner and a pretty centerpiece that catches your attention each time you walk by. You’ll find that you won’t be as quick to dump miscellaneous junk on it because you don’t want to disturb the design.

4. Put Yourself in Others’ Shoes

Hopefully, the people who care about you don’t judge you for the messes in your home because none of us is perfect. However, if your goal is to keep a tidy home, inviting company over can be a powerful motivator to clean up. Before guests arrive, review your list of hot spots and check whether they’ve started accumulating clutter again. If so, knowing that fresh eyes will fall on it soon will prompt you to clear the space before you become junk blind to it again.

5. Schedule Your Junk Zone Audits

You don’t need to wait until you host a get-together in your home to reassess its state. Regular check-ins are needed to avoid clutter from sneaking up on you. Spending just a few minutes decluttering and reorganizing your trouble spots once a week can make a visible difference in the space. Audits also help fend off junk blindness by forcing you to face the clutter, rather than get comfortable with it. If it helps, set a recurring calendar reminder or incorporate it into an existing routine, such as your weekly reset. Remember that small, consistent habits can be impactful and prevent future clutter creep-ups.